The present invention relates to the use of three-dimensional printing techniques in the printing of special finishes on a medium, such as paper, using ink-jet techniques.
Three-dimensional printing, which works by building parts in layers, is a process used for building three-dimensional objects. Ink-jet printing is the jetting of ink through a row of nozzles of an ink-jet head to create an image on a flat substrate, such as paper. In standard two dimensional printing, the ink-jet printer parallels ink dot lines on a substrate by displacing its print head relative to a substrate in one direction during the actuation of the ink-jet nozzles.
Raised printing is the deposit of ink containing a raising agent on paper to cause the words or images being raised above the plane of the paper. This creates the effect of the words or images standing out from the page in order to emphasize their content. Conventional raised printing is achieved today only using traditional printing methods, utilizing sophisticated and expensive equipment, for which large runs of a particular item must be made in order to justify the use of the raised printing effect.
The present invention provides a system and method for using a printing head having at least one row of ink-jet nozzles for the printing on paper or other flat media of raised letters, words or images in order to emphasize their content. The present invention provides for the achievement of the raised printing effect in individualized documents produced on standard word processing software operated on personal computing systems, and using desktop ink jet printing devices.
There is thus provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a method for creating raised and special printing effects using inkjet technology. The method includes the steps of depositing a light curable photo-polymer material on the area selected for the printing effects and curing the area. The amount of material to be deposited corresponds to the area selected for the printing effects and the height of the raised area relative to the medium on which the photo-polymer material is deposited.
Furthermore, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, curing is carried out using ultra violet (UV) or infrared (IR) radiation.
Furthermore, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the photo-polymer material further includes an additive formed from any of a group of materials including laquers and coloring agents.
Furthermore, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the step of depositing includes the step of jetting the photo-polymer material in layers of pre-determined thickness.
In addition, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the method further includes the step of coating the cured area with any of a group of materials including laquers and coloring agents.
Furthermore, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the step of depositing includes the step of selectively adjusting the output from each of a plurality of ink-jet nozzles, to control the amount of material dispensed from each nozzle.